Boot or shoe stretcher



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. DONOVAN.

BOOT OR SHOE STRETGEER.

Patented July 3, 1888.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS. Phawuma rapher. Washinglnn. u. c,

2 SheetsSheen 2.

(No Model.)

J. DONOVAN.

BOOT OR SHOE STRBTGHER.

No. 385,608. Patented July 3, 1888.

fiVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT truce,

JOHN DONOVAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT OR SHOE STRETCHER.

BPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 385,508, dated July 3, 1888.

Application filed December 20, 1837. Serial No. 258,411.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN DONOVAN, of Boston,in the county ofSuftolk and State ofMassachnsetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Boot or Shoe Stretchers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates in particular to an improvement on the boot or shoe stretcher for which United States Letters Patent No. 355,006 were issued to me, JOHN DONOVAN aforesaid, December .28, 1886.

The object of the present improvement is to provide for a more convenient adjustment of the toe-pieces laterally and of the heel-piece longitudinally when the stretcher is in place in the boot or shoe,and for the ready interchange ability of toe-pieces of various sizes to suit different shoes.

To this end the invention consists of a novel construction and combination of parts,substantially as hereinaftcrdoscribed, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of a boot or shoe stretcher embodying my improvement, taken on the line a: 00, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the said stretcher; and Fig. 3 is a rear sectional view on the line 3 3 Fig. 1, showing the fastening of the detachable toepieces.

A designates the hinged toe-pieces of the stretcher; B, the heel-piece; G, the step on which the heel-piece Bis mounted to slide,and D the heel-piece-adjusting screw journaled to the step 0, all arranged substantially as in my wise.

(No modcl.l

of the screw 1) works, and on which works a nut,H,having atransverse oval-shaped head,T.

The toepicces A are chambered on their adjacent sides to receive the ends of the head I,

and thus prevent the nntHfroin turning with the hollow screw G, and the outer walls ofsaid chambers converge forward, so that when the hollow screw G is properly turned by means of the hand-burr K, which is formed on the inner end thereof, the nut H will advance and its head I act as aspreader to separate the toepieces A.

On the inner end of the adjusting-screwD is fixed a gear, L,which is engaged with asmaller gear, M, fixed on the lower end of an upright spindle, N, which is also mounted to turn in the step 0.

The upper end of the spindle N is arranged to project upward, so as to be convenient of access from outside the boot or shoe being stretched, and is provided with a hand-burr, O, by turning which the screw D is worked in its nut F, causing the heel-piece to be carried forward or backward, as the case may be.

In using this stretcher it is adjusted so that it can be readily introduced into the boot or shoe, and when introduced the burr K is first turned to properly stretch the toe laterally, and then the burr O to stretch the shoe length- In removing the stretcher the reverse order of operation is employed.

To provide for readily detaching the toepieces from the stretcher and substituting different toe-pieces, as for a boot or shoe of widely-different size, one leaf, P, of the hinge by which the toe-pieces are connected is permanently secured to the corresponding toepiece A, while the other leaf, P has holes, in which are received removable studs Q, fixed on the other toe-piece.

A bolt, It, is pivoted on the'end of arod, S, mounted to slidelengthwise in a guide,S,fixed to the hinge-leaf]? or to the corresponding toepiece, and one end of the bolt R is adapted to be received in a socket, T, formed in the other toepiece at one side of the leaf P while its other end, which is shouldered, is received in a keeper, T, on the said toe-piece on the other side of the leaf P, which is thus spanned by the bolt. An elastic block, U, is preferably placed in the socket T, to hold the shoulder on substituted for those removed.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a boot or shoe stretcher, the combination of separable toe-pieces, arockiug bearing mounted in the toe-pieces, an adjusting-screw swiveled in the said bearing, with its inner end projecting between the toe-pieces, and a nut on the inner end of the screw and adapted to be moved back and forth thereon by turning the said screw, substantially as described.

2. In a boot or shoe stretcher, the combination ofseparable toe-pieces, a rocking bearing. a hollow toe-piece-adjusting screw swiveled in said bearing and internally screw-threaded at one end, a spreader on the end of the ad justing-serew,and a heel-piece-adj usti ng screw working in and engaging the internal screwthreads of the said toe-piece-adjusting screw, substantially as described.

3. In a boot or shoe stretcher, the combination of toe-pieces, a nut held thereon, an adjusting-screw working lengthwise in said nut, a step in which the adjusting-screw is journaled, a heel-piece carried by the step, a gear on the adj usting-screw,an upright spindle having its bearing in the step, a gear on the spindle engaging that on the adjusting-screw, and a hand-burr on the spindle, substantially as described.

4. In a boot or shoe stretcher, the combination, with a pair of detachable toe-pieces, of a hinge having one leaf secured permanently to one toe-piece, and holes in its other leaf, studs on the other toe-piece adapted to said holes, and a catch for holding the studs in the holes, substantially as described.

5. In aboot or shoe stretcher, the combination of a pair of toe-pieces, ahinge having one leaf attached to one toepiece, and a catch on the other toe-piece for securing the other leaf detachabl y thereto, substantially as described.

JOHN DONOVAN.

Vi tn esscs:

FRANCIS S. HEssEL'rINE, WM. H. HART. 

